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Panthers' defense will be on the spot
Carolina, battling for first-round bye in the playoffs, to play high-scoring New Orleans today
AP File Photo
Steve Smith’s touchdown against the Giants on Sunday night was reversed on a challenge.
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Published: December 28, 2008
NEW ORLEANS - It doesn't get any more clear-cut than this.
The Carolina Panthers will close the regular season this afternoon against the New Orleans Saints at the Superdome, and the outcome will determine their road in the playoffs.
With a win or tie, the Panthers (11-4) would win the NFC South and secure the NFC's No. 2 playoff seed, which would guarantee a first-round bye and the home field in the second round. But if they lose and Atlanta beats St. Louis, they would drop to the No. 5 seed and would be forced to open the playoffs at No. 4 Arizona next weekend.
It's a scenario that is easy for Panthers players to embrace, because they don't have the pressure to make the playoffs but they do have the motivation and sense of urgency to win today.
"I promise you, there are a lot of teams in the NFL that would love to be in the position we're in this weekend," quarterback Jake Delhomme said.
Linebacker Na'il Diggs also looks at today's game as a momentum builder going into the playoffs, after the Panthers lost any chance at the No. 1 seed last Sunday night in a 34-28 overtime loss to the New York Giants.
"We would much rather have a bye week and be at home," Diggs said. "But we've got to play for much more than that. We've got to win four games in a row, starting this week. We haven't dropped two in a row all season, and I don't see us starting now. I think our attitude is still up."
The Panthers' defense will be particularly on the spot, after allowing 459 yards total and 301 yards rushing against the Giants last week. It will go up against a New Orleans offense that leads the NFL in four of the top statistical categories -- total offense (410.3 yards per game), passing yards (307.3), fewest sacks per play (1.8 percent), and scoring (28.8 points per game).
Quarterback Drew Brees leads the league in passing, and he goes into today's game needing 402 yards passing to break Dan Marino's NFL record for passing yardage in a season. Marino passed for 5,084 yards in 1984.
"He's played tremendously," Coach John Fox said of Brees. "Whether he breaks the record or not, he's had a tremendous season. I think what they've accomplished offensively pretty much stands on its own."
The Panthers were able to slow Brees earlier this season in a 30-7 win at Bank of America Stadium on Oct. 19. He was 21 of 39 that day for 231 yards, with a Ken Lucas interception setting up one Carolina touchdown.
The Panthers may have played their best game of the season that day, highly motivated returning home after a 27-3 loss at Tampa Bay the week before.
Today, the defense will be motivated by its collapse last week at New York, when it let an eight-point lead going into the final five minutes slip away. It has given up an average of 29.2 points a game over its past five, and that includes a 30-10 victory over Denver.
"Right now, we're just trying to figure out a way to get back to playing that good defense we were playing earlier in the season," Lucas said. "We're doing everything in our power to get back to that point before the playoffs start, because it's one and out if we continue to play like we've been playing. The offense has been playing lights out the last few weeks, so we need to get on their level so that we can become a complete team."
The Panthers' offense has scored at least 28 points in its past six games, and is averaging 38 points a game in that span. The running game has been outstanding throughout that stretch, with DeAngelo Williams averaging 112.5 yards in that span. Williams ran for 108 yards and four touchdowns against the Giants.
The focus will clearly be on running the ball again today.
"We've done some good things lately," Delhomme said. "I don't want to say we've played our best, though. We can get better. You assume it'll be a shootout. We know they play very well at home, and we know they score a lot of points. So we would love offensively to possess the ball and keep them off the field. Hopefully our defense is going to play outstanding this week, and special teams. We need a complete game, all three phases."
The Panthers have played well at New Orleans traditionally. They haven't lost to the Saints on the road since 2001, winning five times at the Superdome and winning in Baton Rouge in 2005 when the Saints moved their home games because of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina.
The Saints, though, are 5-1 at home this season (they also beat San Diego in London in a game designated as a home game). And no NFC South team has lost to a division opponent at home this season. The Saints blasted Detroit 42-7 last week.
"How you finish, and having the chance to take some momentum into the next season is important," Coach Sean Payton of the Saints said. "We talked about it last week as we got ready to play Detroit, in what many called a game that did not matter. I think our players are looking forward to playing, and I think that's important."
■ John Delong can be reached at jdelong@wsjournal.com.
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